Remember that Beach Boys song?

"I'm getting bugged drivin up n down the same old strip
I gotta find a new place where the kids are hip
My buddies and me are gettin real well known....."

I'm listening to it now. Its my theme song for this entry.

Well, faithful readers will know by looking at the pictures that I've been making the courthouse shuffle I most frequently make: home to Eureka, then Ukiah, then back to Eureka, then back to Ukiah. No matter how hard I try to the schedules to sync up better - like having all my Ukiah appearances on one day, and my Eureka appearances all on another - it never works.

So Sunday night my intrepid legal assistant and I packed up the '99 and headed off to the Townhouse in Eureka ready for a knock-down trial in Eureka starting bright and early Monday morning. I leap from bed ready for the fight. Nothing is as exhilarating as a trial. Evidently I'm not the only one who thinks so - the judge had 8 pages of trial scheduled for Monday morning and perhaps 1 courtroom to hold them all in. That's not going to happen. So, we began to deal. Before I know it, the judge, the DA, my client, and I, are all smiling and we have a deal. But, no trial.

The trip wasn't a total loss, however. My LA and I ate at the Ritz, which is one of my top dining experiences each time I try it. I tried that trick of ordering two glasses of wine - one prosecco, and one syrah, with the syrah to come when the prosecco runs out. You'll recall what happened at Patronas? (Check the "best burger" entry). Well, it didn't work as well here. For one thing there was some confusion about prosecco, but we got it straight, but the syrah came while I was still sippin the prosecco - not a problem at all, just service not as smooth as Patronas. On the other hand I had Katszu Udon, like I always do, and it was great, like it always is. Actually I think that remarkable wine service at Patronas was a unique moment, never to be repeated no matter where I eat.

After dinner my LA and I walked back to the Townhouse on 3rd street, as we always do. And we passed by the Avalon, as we always do. It was closed since it it is dark Sundays, as it always is. But I started to wonder why I never eat there. I have been in the place years back at a Gallegos campaign event and it looked good, the menu is interesting if a bit upscale in pricing (still with me commenter who thought my best burger was elitist? Imagine if I had dinner at the Avalon and then recommended it)

The reason I don't eat there is almost totally a matter of routing - or location, depending on how you look at it. See, the problem is I'm always walking to dinner from the Townhouse at 5th and "I" streets. I go out the back, down the alley, right on "J" to 4th, then down 4th to the big parking lots separating 4th from 3rd, diagonal across the lots, and bingo I'm on 3rd and the Ritz and Mazotti's are in view at the corner of F & 3rd. . But the Avalon is not, because it is located behind me, where I would have to have taken a right on G instead of a diagonal, to reach it. And I never do, so I never go there. I did take one great photo of the place, however, all glinty in the sunset.



So its off to Ukiah for Tuesday's events. We're supposed to be confirming a trial for the next Monday. Another trial. Now you're talking. If one trial doesn't go in Eureka, there's one waiting in Ukiah. Life is good. But, alas, reality intervened again and that trial was put off. Now I've got no trials till August 4. On the way home I photographed the fire fighters camp which fills a huge field just north of Laytonville. There wasn't a vantage from which to really capture the size of the thing, so this is the best shot I got. This is only a fraction of the whole camp.



(Hey language fans, did I use a past perfect subjective verb in this entry?)